On the Glass Café

Owner Angele Abi Haidar on the historical value of the Gemmayze Cafe:

Every inch of this cafe carries a story […] It has witnessed the country’s major political events and survived through the 1975–1990 civil war. […] The likes of President Camille Chamoun, Prime Minister Saeb Salam and (Maronite Christian leader) Pierre Gemayel were among our customers

She was kicked out because she now has to pay the market value of the rent (150,000$ per year) instead of the artificial one she was paying (50,000$). You’d think that by now her family would have bought the place from the owner.

This is not a straightforward matter. The woman was seriously underpaying for the place, which means hers was not a viable business in such a location. If I were her I would build on the value of the brand and open somewhere else, somewhere where the rent makes economic sense. If she played her cards right (maybe build the whole thing out of glass?) her customers will follow..

Talk is cheap. So are printing banners and having last cups of coffee for that matter. But unless we, the clients are willing to pay that extra 100,000$ per year, the place is not viable economically (and the fact that she didn’t find any bank to loan her the extra money is the biggest testimony to that).

It was good while it lasted.